Columns

It is late, almost midnight. The Cardinals ballgame ended just a few moments ago, so I turn off the radio on the nightstand. Now, the house is quiet, the bedroom dark. The only sounds I can detect are the dog's snoring and my wife's soft breathing as she lays sleeping next to me.

The distractions of the day -- the TV, the computer, my cellphone -- all are taking their rest. I am forced to retreat into myself. Finally, I think, I might f...

During these weeks between Easter and Pentecost, I am writing about those women and men who were witnesses to the Lord's resurrection. Our faith is not based on abstract concepts. It is grounded in the eyewitness testimony of those who actually encountered the risen Jesus and then shared their experience with us.

St. Stephen, who is called the protomartyr because he was the first follower of Jesus to die for his faith, was a deacon. He...

My dad was a terrific doodler. He could entertain my sister and me for quite a while with his version of Kilroy or a sketch of a silly Tam-wearing Scotsman. When dad finished entertaining us with his pad of paper and pencil, we'd turn to mom and ask her to draw something. She always said she just wasn't creative. No begging or cajoling could make her pick up the pencil.

Dad would push away from the table and tell her that she was more c...

Those of us who have had a profound personal encounter with Jesus are compelled to share that experience with others. We have "seen the Lord," and so our faith is deepened and enriched. We share this experience with others, and as a result others have their faith strengthened and renewed.

One of the original witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus was St. Thomas the Apostle, a fascinating character who appears in all four Gospels. The na...

"Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into His glory? Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them what referred to Him in all the Scriptures." Luke 24:25-27 

One of the most often-painted scenes in the Gospel is the appearance of Jesus to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Th...

Although the Lord made Peter the head of the Apostles, He knew Peter had faults -- he was impulsive, outspoken and sometimes fearful, even cowardly, in the face of danger. Jesus didn't choose Peter because he was perfect. He chose Peter because He loved him.

As head of the Apostles, Peter was the first person to inspect the empty tomb. Although St. John's Gospel tells us that Peter and "the other disciple" were the first witnesses to th...

St. Paul believed that it was of "first importance" to remind the Church of Corinth, and all of us, that there were real eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Our faith is not a matter of speculation or vague ideas. The Lord is actually risen, and we have the testimony of many eyewitnesses to assure us that this mysterious, life-changing event really happened.

In my columns during the weeks between Easter Sunda...

"Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above eve...

I can speak from personal experience on the benefits of using adult stem cells in the art and science of healing. Late last year, my doctor took cells from my stomach and implanted them in my left knee. The result has been a dramatic improvement in the functioning of that knee. My right knee was more seriously impaired and earlier last year I had to have a full knee replacement that put me out of commission for a couple of months. Thank God, t...

Because I have taught for more than 36 years, whenever someone around age 40 or 50 sees me in public and says, "Hello, Mr. Jobst," I know it is a former student. Somehow it makes me feel like a wise elder (a delusion that quickly fades).

I taught Greg over 30 years ago. I treasure the man he has become, a great husband, father and leader of liturgical music. When we reconnected 15 years ago, he called me "Mr. Jobst." Now, thankfully, ou...

Last month I wrote to Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and asked her to support legislation introduced by her colleague, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), to defend religious liberty. The occasion was, of course, the Obama Administration's decision to retain the HHS mandate that requires all health insurance providers to include contraception, abortion-inducing drugs and other so-called preventive services in their plans regardless of the conscientious obj...

Church teaching is often countercultural. Society says certain things are OK, even encouraged, as a form of self-expression. The Church appears to be the bad guy, a spoiler of fun and a killjoy -- especially when it comes to anything having to do with sex.

Don't believe everything you see on TV or the Internet. It's true that Church teaching, especially on human sexuality, often goes against the grain of popular thinking. It's also true...

Pornography takes something beautiful -- the God-given gift of human sexuality -- and debases it. Pornographic images take something of inestimable value -- the loving union of a husband and wife -- and makes it cheap and tawdry.

Why then do so many people -- young and old -- use pornography in all its ugly and degrading forms? Why has the sale of pornographic magazines, DVDs, downloads and apps become a multi-billion-dollar-a-year busi...

If Adam and Eve had not sinned, life would be a bowl of cherries, but the fact is that they did sin, and life is not a bowl of cherries!

Mankind's fall has been profound, but even more profound has been God's response to the fall by giving us Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. The stakes are high, God or Satan, my will or God's will! That is why God is so relentless in pursui...